THE DÁIL HAS been told of how the families of those killed in the Creelough explosion have been “re-traumatised” by the granting of planning permission to redevelop the site where their loved ones died. 

Four men, three women and three children, ranging in age from five to 59, died in the blast that ripped through the Co Donegal village’s Applegreen service station and a nearby apartment block on 7 October 2022.

This morning Donegal County Council approved a plan to demolish the existing building and erect a new structure with a shop, a post office, a beautician and fuel pumps. The project will also include a memorial to those who died in the blast.

A solicitor of some of the families of those killed in the Creeslough explosion has said they are to challenge the decision.

Raising the issue in the Dáil this afternoon, Sinn Féin Donegal TD Pearse Doherty said the families learned of the decision through media reports.

He also called on the Government to deliver a public inquiry into the explosion and noted that the families have not heard from the former Justice Minister Helen McEntee since they met with her last year. 

“The Garda Commissioner, following that meeting, has publicly stated that a public inquiry can run alongside a garda investigation,” Doherty said. 

He continued: “This morning, I am thinking of Margaret O’Donnell. She is the mother of Catherine. She is the grandmother of James. Both of them were victims in the Cresslough tragedy. She went to her grave at the weekend without the answers that she and all of the other families deserve.”

Responding to Doherty on behalf of the Government, Minister Helen McEntee said she was “really clear” in her previous role that a public inquiry has never been ruled out.

However, she said it should only take place if questions remain after a file is given to the Director of Public Prosecutions by the gardaí.

Planning permission 

In relation to the planning permission, Donegal County Council said it would grant it subject to ten conditions. These include traffic safety, prevention of flooding, sustainable development and protection of the environment. 

The applicant, Vivo Shell Limited gave assurances in its application to be respectful to the family members injured and killed in the incident. 

In response to the granting of permission Darragh Mackin, solicitor for some of the families said they would be contesting the decision.

“It is difficult to comprehend a more insensitive and morally bankrupt decision in recent times.

“Despite the fierce and unrelenting pleas from the families directly affected, the Donegal County Council has placed commercial and business interests above the interests and rights of these families. Such a decision will not be taken lying down.

“Our clients have today signalled their intention to challenge every aspect of this planning decision in an effort to vindicate their rights, and the rights of their loved ones,” he said. 

Mackin said that the decision “rubs salt into the open wounds” of the families’ grief and he said it would be the equivalent of rebuilding on the Grenfell Tower site or the Stardust nightclub. 

He said that the families will “fight” for what he said is their “basic rights”. 

“Questions must be asked when a contentious decision such as this appears in the
local media in Donegal before it is even as much as notified to these families.

“In many ways, this revelation underscores the families’ concerns as to the motivations
of the instant decision,” Mackin added. 

The planning section of Donegal County Council received more than 30 objections to the plans, including from family members of those who died.